Son et
Lumiere 2011

(A
crew of 3 or 4 people will be live foley artists creating as many sound effects
as possible.)

Screen
for back-projection of pictures/video/shadow theatre mounted on tall structure
across choir.

Two
lighting towers in front of pillars on either side of central aisle.

Sound & lighting controlled from
vestry. Two narrators on north side.

A
shadow theatre cast will perform the action events behind a screen. (All other participants sit in audience
at sides and come forward for their scene.)

Narrator 1:
Helen Baines Narrator 2:
Chris Baines

Jester/Town
Crier: Stanley Glendinning

1.
Introduction

(Opening music montage of B-cum-S on
screen. (Respighi) Approx. 45”)

NEW PHOTO MONTAGE WITH THEN AND NOW HOUSES

There have
been families living in Brightwell and Sotwell for over a thousand years. This
is the story of some of the changes that have happened….

Exactly 200
years ago - in 1811 - Brightwell had its first, and only, Act of Parliament. It
would change the landscape of this parish forever… But before we look back at
this - let’s wind the clock back even further to a time when the landscape was
completely unrecognizable...

CLOCK
WINDING SOUND FX

If you go back
25 thousand years we were in the last Ice Age. This area was a frozen tundra
completely devoid of trees. The ice cap – which was a mile thick in places -
extended to North Oxfordshire.

ICY
WINDS/GLACIAL SOUND FX & VIS FX OF ICE & RUNNING WATER

Then around 14
thousand years ago the planet started to warm up again..

Back then, the
River Thames was a tributary of the River Rhine – because Britain was still
physically linked to the rest of Europe.

JESTER: “Those
were the days!” FROM
PULPIT

Then as more
and more ice melted, Britain turned into an island.. cut off from mainland
Europe…

JESTER:
“Hurray!” FROM
PULPIT

The Thames
became a mighty river in its own right. Water was held back by the narrowness
of the Goring Gap, so this area, and even Wittenham Clumps was submerged under
a great flood..

DRIPPING…
THAW… GUSHING WATER SOUND FX

When the
waters subsided – Stone Age settlements eventually sprung up along the banks of
the Thames…

From axe heads
found in Mackney we know Stone Age man lived round here..

1a.
Brightwell In the Stone Age.

Two Stone
Age men dressed in skins come on to stage. One is looking for something.

They talk
in grunts that are hard to decipher.

Subtitles
show what they’re saying.

What you looking for? Mammoth?

My name not Mammoth – My name Ugh

What you looking for Ugh? Mammoth?

No, Water

What you want water for?

Drinking

Drinking?

Mmm, and washing

What’s washing

Get clean, stop smelling

Smelling like what?

Mammoth.

Do you smell like mammoth

No, I wash

Where you wash?

I found well

Is well clean?

Mm Clean and Bright

Is well hot?

Well cold then comes hot.

What you call this well that’s bright,
and then comes hot

Brightwell comes hot well!

2001 music
begins.. Cavemen look up.. Recognise tune, pick up bone and throw it into air..

2.
Origin of Name

So how did
this village get its embarrassingly long name? Well it’s a long story..

JESTER:

“Not too long
I hope…” FROM PULPIT LEANING ON ELBOW.

CAPTION:
You
Live Where?!

(Animated
caption)

The first
written records date back to the Charters of Saxon Kings, when land was divided
into Tithes. In 854 King Aethelwulf
assigned this area, which was called
Beorhtanwille,
to Winchester Cathedral.

The name may
have come from a Saxon tribe called the Beorhts….

(In old
English “beorht coylle”-
meaning clear spring.)

A century
later this land was divided between Stottanwille and Beorhtanwille. Both villages had fresh water springs
… which may explain where the “well”
comes from…

BOING!
SOUND FROM FOLEY TEAM! (RAISED EYEBOWS FROM CHRIS)

Gradually over
the centuries the spelling changed – but the sheep still carried on grazing
from one generation to the next:

(Children from Brightwell Primary School perform
a dance showing how the names have changed over the centuries. Each child is
dressed as a sheep and carries a single letter. The flock is tended by two shepherds
who carry crooks.. When the music stops and the sheep call out the new name

CHASING
SHEEP BY MICHAEL NYMAN STARTS UP.. IT STOPS WHEN THE SPELLING IS FORMED.. AND
THEN CONTINUES…

In the 10th
Century:

Beorhtanwille.
(X Century) Stottanwille

In the 11th
Century:

Bristowell (XI Century) Sottewell

In the 13th Century:

Bretewell (~XIII Century) Sotwelle

In the 14th century:

Brithwell (~XIV Century Suttanwylle

In the 15th
Century

Brygtwell (~XV Century) Shottewell

In the 19th
Century:

Bryghtwell (~XI X Century) Satwell

In the 20th
Century:

Brightwell (~XX
Century) Sotwell

Until…. Finally…. the two villages came together to form:

CHORUS BLEET:

Brightwell -
Cum - Sotwell

SODC Inspector:

“I’ve got a better idea – how about
Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell-Cum-Site ‘B’….

3. The Danes & Normans

As far as we
know Brightwell and Sotwell managed to escape the attention of marauding Danes
who used to cruise down the River Thames on search-and-destroy missions. Nearby villages, like Cholsey, were
less fortunate.

However, we
did not escape William the Conquerer’s tax inspectors who came to the village
to collect information for the Domesday Book.

As news of
their arrival spread, it was tempting to hide the odd animal or plough to avoid
paying taxes.

In the middle
of the 12th Century this area was in turmoil. There had been a state of civil war
ever since King Henry 1 had died and his nephew, Stephen, had seized the crown.

The rightful
heir to the throne was Henry’s daughter, Matilda. She returned from France to enforce her claim and conducted
her campaign from Wallingford Castle.

Brightwell
castle was used by King Stephen’s men against Matilda’s supporters in
Wallingford. Three times they laid
siege against Wallingford… and three times they were beaten back.

5a. Matilda and
Stephen sketch.

Scene – Stephen’s Castle in Wallingford,
under siege from Matilda’s troops - Castle door (if video clip then could use
Church Door – be good to have a couple of arrows in it)

SODC Inspector knocks at door, Stephen
answers, with crown on head looking very flushed. Inspector (wearing bowler hat) has a clip board and is
making notes….

Stephen: What do you want … Are you the
Relief? Is that all they could
send, my God we’re undone!

Inspector: I
don’t wish to know that Mr (checks pad), Aah yes, Mr King. My name is Snodgrass;
Snodgrass of the SODC, Planning inspector. We have been led to believe that you may have begun work on
an extension WITHOUT planning permission

Stephen:
Just who are you? What do you want?

Inspector: Well
it’s something about an extension for a toilet; costing about 80 so I am led to
believe; my secretary did make an appointment.

Stephen:
What do you think you are doing we are in the middle of a siege

Inspector: Ooh
a siege you say; well I can’t help that. My secretary definitely sent you
notification of my visit with a view to checking your extension

Stephen: But
we are in the middle of a fight

Inspector: Oh
really, who are you fighting?

Stephen:
Well my Cousin Matilda actually

Inspector: Ooh,
having a domestic are we?

Stephen: No
not exactly, more like a war of succession; we’ve already lost the East Tower
to a Ballistar.

Inspector: Really? Did you have planning permission to
demolish that?

Stephen:
Don’t you realize what is happening; I’ve got to get the families into the Keep
for their protection

Inspector: Families? Living inthe Keep? I’m sorry Mr King, but that is change of use and I’m sure
you have not applied for permission.

Stephen:
Look I really haven’t got time for this you clearly do not understand

Inspector: Oh but I think I do Mr King; not
only do you build an illegal extension, demolish a tower without planning
permission, but you deliberately change the use of the Keep without form SODC
2573

(As he says this, Stephen is raising his
axe to chop the Inspector’s head off).

Inspector: and
do you have a license for that Axe, Mr King?

Fanfare (Shadow theatre of fighting on
screen… sounds of battle. Outline
of wooden pallisades cut out of hardboard. Sound of destruction. Shadow of big axe being wielded. Lighting change. King crowned.

5b.
Surrender

King Stephen
eventually surrendered Brightwell castle to Matilda’s son, Henry and after that
it was destroyed.

SHADOW
CROWNING IN GOLDEN GLOW

In the Treaty
of Wallingford, it was declared that when Stephen died, Matilda’s son would
become King.

The following
year Henry was crowned Henry II - the first Plantagenet King of England.

6.
The Story of St Agatha and early Church History

CAPTION:
The Story of St Agatha

PICTURE OF CHURCH.

This church
dates back to the 12th Century. Around the time it was built, King
Stephen’s brother had presented Winchester Cathedral with a relic of St Agatha.

But who was St
Agatha? Only one other church in England is dedicated to this obscure saint.

FADE UP SHADOW THEATRE (BLUE)

St. Agatha’s
story is a grizzly tale set on the island of Sicily, in the shadow of a
volcano, in Roman times.

Agatha was
renowned for her beauty among the Sicilians. When the new Governor of Sicily, Quintian, first laid eyes
on her, he tried to woo her with presents and promises of love.

She refused
his advances, so he began to persecute her. When she still turned her back on him, he was furious, and
demanded to know why.

AGATHA: “I am
a free woman and the servant of Jesus Christ”

TWO
SHADOW HENCHMEN COME OUT FROM SIDE AND DRAG HER IN

When she still
would not submit, he showed no mercy.
She was taken away to a dark dungeon where she was beaten. (Legend has it that her breasts were
cut off, which is possibly why she became the patron saint of bell-ringers.)

While she was
lying in the dungeon, a miracle happened…
(Bell sounds)

At midnight
St. Peter appeared in a vision.
The guards fled and Peter tended the wounds with ointment.

On discovering
that Agatha’s wounds had miraculously healed, Quintian ordered that she should be burned on a great
fire. But before the order could
be carried out, an earthquake struck.
Realising this was God’s warning, Quintian let her return to her cell
where she later died peacefully.
Shortly afterwards the volcano, Mount Etna, erupted causing widespread
devastation.

A Crusader
returned to England with the story.
It’s possible someone
brought back a fragment of bone – a relic of the saint – which was presented to
the Bishop in Winchester who passed it on to Brightwell - so that’s how this
church became dedicated to St Agatha… who is the patron saint of bell ringers..

(Gregorian Chant)

Very little of
the original church remains today apart from the old door-way in the South Wall
and the upper walls of the nave. A tower was added in the 13th
Century.

(•• Possible
montage of church ••.)

7. The Black
Death

CAPTION: 1349

ROY RINGS
BELL TOLL

1349 was a
terrible year. A pandemic spread
across Europe.

Wherever there
are humans there are rats…

CUE Rats on
threads released. SHADOW ACTING DULL RED BACKGROUND

And rats carry
fleas..

And back then
when fleas bit humans… they carried a deadly germ…

The Black
Death

It wiped out
100 million people worldwide.

In England
many villages lost more than half their inhabitants.

Brightwell
escaped relatively lightly with a death toll of 29%.

Brightwell’s
rector at the time, Peter le Dene, who died in that year, was probably one of
the victims.

The Black
Death caused a great labour shortage. Vast stretches of land were left
uncultivated... Much of it was
turned to grass.

CHILDREN
SING:

Ring a
ring a roses…

8. The Drovers Return

‘Sheep’ from Brightwell School ‘baah’
the tune of Coronation Street.

From the
Middle Ages drovers passed through the village with their flocks. Some were travelling West to join the
Ridgeway… others came from the Midlands to the Great Sheep Fair at East
Ilsley…. While the sheep drank at the Wellsprings, the drovers refreshed themselves at one of the local
hostelries.

(2 shepherds with crooks and tankards
enter… )

Right up to
the 1920’s drovers would pass through the village begging a night’s
accommodation in an out-house or barn, and downing a pint or two at the Swan or
the Red Lion.

CAPTION:
The Drovers Return CAPTION REMAINS THROUGHOUT.

9. DROVERS
RETURN SKETCH

Jeremiah
Clarkson: Well if it isn’t my old
pal Little Richard Hammond.

Richard: Jeremiah Clarkson, you old wool head. What have you been up to? Still producing Top Shear?

Jeremiah: No, just finished my latest book: Flocking
all over the world........ Anyway how are you? Haven’t seen you since Michaelmas fair
last year; I remember you leaving the village roaring along with your flock of
Berkshire Notts. I must say they
were real beauties; what lines; what panache!

Richard: Yes
I remember. Could do nought to
three and a half inside 15 minutes.
Unfortunately I lost the lot in a pile up on the A 417 near Letchlade.

One of the Ewes had a
blow-out; terrible mess.
Unfortunately, old James May Day was standing in the way, what a stink!

Jeremiah(Sniffs the air). Hold
on there’s something coming downwind. If I’m not mistaken....(James comes on)
well, talk of the devil

James: Well, well fancy bumping into you guys

Richard: (screws up nose and turns away) Well I don’t actually, could you stand over there
please (positions him to the side).
I see your still droving your old Merinos

James: Well yes, but they are getting a bit slow now, I
am off the trade them in at Abingdon Fair, got my eyes on a top of the range Dorset. It’s got a new double safety feature.

Richard: What’s that?

James: A pair of horns.

Honk!
Honk! From sound FX

Jeremiah: A pair of Horns? That’s about as useful, as a
snooze button on a smoke alarm.

Richard: Of course James you always were safety
conscious, you know what they say: ‘speed kills’

Richard: Well, I decided to stay with what I know best,
the Shortwools, so I’ve gone for the new model Southdown and I must say she
purrs like a contented tom cat.
What about you?

Jeremiah:
Me? I couldn’t get the rush
from a shortwool. No I thought I’d
really splash out and go for something seriously meaty before I get too old and
my crooks crock. The Longwool for
me; the classic Border Leicester.
There is nothing quite like that Large hornless white face to make the
heads turn driving along the Ridgeway to Wantage. I sheer the hindlegs to give it my stamp and well, now that
I’ve got my personalised flock registration number, it really sends out a
message: C Ewes later

James: Well I better be off, which way are you guys
headed?

Richard: (To James). (Turning his head from the smell). Up
wind I think.... we’ve got to get to old Greasby’s farm before nightfall.

James: Actually you know, I’ve heard of a farm near
here where they’re carrying out experiments to actually engineer a new
breed. Its got a totally black
face, white body and never utters a sound.

Jeremiah: Wow what’s it called?

James: A Stig Farm….. Apparently it is so secret they
won’t even give the breed a real name

Richard: Gosh, how do they keep it so secret

James: Well anyone caught near it will have the wool
pulled over their eyes. Well must
be off Baa Baa

Richard
and Jeremiah: Baa-Baa, Baa-Baa

Children sheep join in the bleating…

10. A Murder in Brightwell Church

CAPTION: 1507

(A drop of blood animates from bottom of
‘7’ and drips down with a ‘plop’ sound effect .)

A hooded figure advances on a kneeling priest in shadowland. DARK
BLUE

It was a time when
some individuals held grudges against the church, which had a growing
reputation for being greedy. The
exact motive for the crime which followed is not known.

Robert Forde,
a ‘foreigner’ from East Hendred,
entered this church and approached a priest. His name was John Sketefield. According to Forde’s confession before
the Mayor of Wallingford, he attacked Sketefield with a sword and struck him in
the head with a dagger.

The murder of
John Sketefield, who was probably a curate to the church, is recorded on a 16th
Century brass in the south aisle..

Shadow scene acted behind screen.

Sound FX Echo-Foot steps.. Bells tolls..

11. The Church Wardens’ Lot

In 1549 when
Henry VIII declared himself Head of the Church and broke away from the Pope,
many monasteries were destroyed, leaving the sick and poor with nowhere to
go.

CAPTION: The Church Wardens’ Lot

This left
village church wardens with a long list of responsibilities….

CHURCH WARDENS
RECITE:

Mending roads
and bridges

Killing rats
and other vermin,

Washing
surplices

Building
pulpits

Helping
travelers

Overseeing the
poor,

And
maintaining whipping posts, pounds and stocks.

(The village
stocks used to stand opposite the Red Lion Pub.)

The Churchwarden’s Lament

(to the tune of
The Policeman’s Lot with apologies to Gilbert & Sullivan.)

(Alec
McG, Roy T, John Rodda).

We would like to
tell you all of our employment, our employment

And the shocking
duties that we must perform, must perform

You’ll soon see we
do not do these for enjoyment, for enjoyment

Particularly in
the winter’s storm, winter’s storm.

The graveyard of
St James’s we must see to, we must see to

And prevent the
roof of Ag’tha’s falling down, falling down

And the choirboys
often need a damn good thrashing, damn good thrashing

Oh the warden’s
lot is not a happy one, happy one!

Ah when Parish
warden’s duties to be done, to be done

Oh the warden’s
lot is not a happy one, happy one!

Sadly Rentokil has
not yet been invented, been invented

And controlling
rats so occupies our time, -pies our time

And we do not have
the tools to mend the fencing, mend the fencing

The vicar’s on our
backs to tackle crime, tackle crime.

But most of all
the poor must be looked after, be looked after

Oh it’s sad we
have no time to call our own, call our own

And then dare we
mention our remuneration, -muneration

Oh the warden’s
lot is not a happy one, happy one!

Ah when Parish
warden’s duties to be done, to be done

Oh the warden’s
lot is not a happy one, happy one!

12. The Headmaster’s Lot

CAPTION: The Headmaster’s Lot

Shadows of wild kids projected on background. DULL
GREY?

Master SITS down looking weary and dejected

In 1634 the
Chief Master of Abingdon School, Dr. Thomas Godwin, retired and came to
Brightwell to be the new rector.
An observer described him as

"being as
tween broken or wearied out with the drudgery of the school."

The Church Wardens, hum… FIRST PART

THEN SING:

“A headmaster’s lot is not a happy one,
happy one.”

“After he had
for some years enjoyed himself in great repose in requital of his many labours,
he surrendered up his soul to God on 20th March 1642.”

HEADMASTER
COLLAPSES (CAREFUL DEREK!!)

13. Brightwell in the Civil War.

CAPTION:
The Civil War FADE DOWN CAPTION

In 1645, the
Civil War was raging between Charles I and his parliament.

(Some
Brightwellians were probably recruited for the Royalist cause, but the village
itself escaped unscathed.)

Dr Edward
Hyde, the new Rector at Brightwell, was a Royalist, and he soon found himself
hauled in front of a Church committee in Reading…

COMMITTEE
MEMBER:

“Please ask Dr
Hyde to come before the committee.

CHURCH
OFFICIAL:

“Any minister
who maintains blasphemous or atheistic opinions, who sides with the King as
against the parliament, who reads the Book of Common Prayer in public, who
encourages Whitsun Ales, Wakes, Morris dancing, Maypoles or other licentious
practices.. … will be considered SCANDALOUS.”

COMMITTEE
MEMBER:

“What have you
got to say for yourself – Dr Hyde?”

Dr.Hyde:

“My allegiance
remains with the King!”

Dr Hyde’s
“scandalous” behavior cost him his job and he was ejected from Brightwell.

14. The Census of 1676

CAPTION:
The Census of 1676 LEAVE UP CAPTION

In 1676 a
census was taken by the Bishop of Salisbury, who had good reason to want to
know how many people lived in his diocese.

TOWN CRIER: WALK
ALONG CATWALK RINGING BELL

“Population of
Brightwell: 234.”

At this time
all the inhabitants of a parish were assumed to be church people. The church levied a "tax"
which most small-holders paid according to the size of their holding. The tax varied from £3-£15 (today that
would be between £150 to £1,200).

"Smoke farthings" or Pentecost
money was collected four times a year, on Christmas Day, Palm Sunday, Easter
and Whit Sunday. )

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